Revision: Version 10

9:45PM - Where I've been

Since my last post way back in January, I've been...

-In South Carolina with Ron Paul for the Primary
-In DC, again with Ron Paul
-In DC with the folks at AARP (no I'm not retiring YET)
-In Chicago for their Auto Show
-In Orlando for the Int'l Builders Show
-In Delaware for ING Direct
-Doing Radio Media Tours in my bunny slippers from home
-At the Satellite 2008 Show
-At NAB in Vegas (Thank you if you bought me a drink!)

And this week I was back down in Florida working with Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic...who apparently is nearly TWICE my height.

5:50PM - 4th Quarter Catchup

October-
This month requires just a bit of editing, but I hope it suffices to say I was in Phoenix for a large part of the month working on a fed govt gig. The job went quite well. The people I worked with, especially Teresa and Cynthia, were wonderful. It was a fair amount of work, but definitely enjoyable. Phoenix was warm which is a major plus but otherwise left a bit to be desired. Occasionally we found non-corporate food. The 5am shoot at the airport was tough to wake up for, but really rather beautiful. So was the Botanical Gardens. And the escape up north definitely made the trip.

Prior to leaving there was a far more subdude than last year's bithday celebration. We found a great spot tucked away in Fairmount Park and had a picnic on a beautiful indian summer day.

After the trip was all of the usual Halloween festivities. Chris procured some electro luminecent wire to make me a suit to match his. I took it a step further and found a perfect girly pink dress to use with it. We became Neon Man and Electro Girl.

At the end of the month, things came to a head about the lack of progress on the new house. The bad news is it was a bad situation and resulted in basically starting all over again, but this time doing it ourselves. The good part was it forced us into working as a team, and that has had lasting positive reprocussions.

November-
The memories of the month generally fall into two catagories, work or the house. Work included traveling to Pittsburgh and St. Louis and even doing the Thanksgiving Parade in Phila for GMA. Unfortunately, I drooled on my turkey dinner after being awake since 4am. Not good.
The house required a lot of focus and time. Meetings with new contractors. Meetings over morning coffee between us about what was to be accomplished each day, each week. Now finally we have a plan, we have a budget, and we have work underway.

December-
Only half way through it. Spent the first week in NYC for work. Long hours, enjoyable job. Especially getting to talk to the guys at my remote sites, working with Eric again, AND living at All Mobile for the week. It was almost enough to make me feel like I could go back up to NYC if I needed to.
Second week was Fish Party prep. With neither of us working full time, this went quite smoothly. Party went well despite the Nor'easter happening outside. And I can say I survived my 3rd one as hostess. :)


Between those things I'm sure there were plenty of social festivities, yummy dinners, movies watched, crocheting done and napping with the puppies. But I think all that pretty much sums up the last few months.

7:26PM - Red Rocks

WHAT a way to spend a birthday!
We visited Arcosante and Jerome on Saturday.
Had an amazing dinner at the Asylum restaurant.
Crashed in Sedona after dark. And woke up to this!
We spent the day hiking and exploring.

Being stuck far away from home for your birthday isn't so bad,
when it's spent together, in this setting, with perfect weather.

12:08PM - Burning Man in Photographs

As promised, the photos are finally up.
I've explained what I can, but there are just so many.
And it's pretty hard to fully capture the experience in photographs.
But here's a sampling of what we saw...
Burning Man Photos

12:25AM - chris and kaci at burning man

The onslaught of photos from our trip to the desert are forthcoming.
Just as soon as I have time to get them all uploaded.

5:26PM - My whereabouts aka Burning Man

I've been terrible at keeping up lately. I've been a working/traveling fool as of late. So I apologize if I've been a bit MIA. Eventually, this will slow down. And no I'm not moving to out West, just spending a lot of time there.

To that end, I'm heading back out there for the next 2 weeks, but this time for fun. We'll be doing Burning Man, and visiting in San Fran, Sacramento, Reno, etc along the way. I'll be taking lots of pictures, and drinking plenty of water.

Chat with y'all upon return!
(If you'll be out there, let me know!!!)

8:39PM - Photos are up!

In the rare minutes that I had a chance, I took some pictures at the Live Earth Concert at Giants Stadium. What I was able to take appear on my flickr site.
Check it out Live Earth Photos

9:43PM - Live Earth US

What a couple of weeks it has been! But it is finally all starting to come together! Today I was up on top of the Press Box, scoping out the live positions for both the Domestic and Foreign Broadcasters.
We have an amazing number of news outlets covering the show, and I'm working to ensure they all have what technical support they need to get the job done.

I'll try to take some more shots tomorrow as we finalize prep. Then Friday everyone starts arriving for the big show on Saturday.

6:54PM - When we last left...

Lack of a steady internet connection at home is aiding and abetting my seemingly sporadic posting attempts. But when we last left off...

Memorial Day weekend was like one giant BBQ. Thanks again to all who joined us on Saturday. Other than the major downpour, it was a lot of fun. I think we made over 5 lbs of sausage and that was gobbled up pretty quickly plus other people brought lots of other good treats to eat. Sunday to cure my hangover, we went on a tandem bike ride. Almost like being a passenger, which was nice. Then after nearly getting caught in the next major downpour, we hit another BBQ. And then Monday was BBQ madness, hitting 3 of them including one out in Mt. Airy at Jason's new digs. Very cool!
Tuesday, I got out to Ms. Sherr's inaugural karaoke night at Khyber-it was packed and lots of fun. After that the week was a blur of work prep. I picked up a big job in LA for the following week along with some other PR work.
The following week, on Monday, I worked out in K of P on a pharma thing.
Wednesday, I flew to LA to do a webcast on the set of the show "The Closer." I changed my status to 1 degree of Kevin Bacon and got to hang out with Shok, see his apt and even have him work for me for a day. Friday AM I flew back, tried to sleep and work at the same time, and then went to Al's vodka party. SOOO good. The food was amazing and despite at least 4 shots, I felt good--no--downright great the next morning. Note to all-deviled eggs and pickle juice will save us all!
Saturday I spent the day working with Robbie Knievel. I had my first ever police escort as I traveled down I-95 trying to beat the pack of motorcycles traveling from Philly to Wilmington for Robbie's big jump. Whew, what a day and the jump really was amazing. And since my cameraman was up on a scissorlift, it was the first time I've ever produced via cell phone that I can remember.
Sunday we hit A4T$P and picked up some great stuff. Then out to dinner for Sushi since at some point recently we tried to go, unsucessfully. And then we went to see "Machines, Machines, Machines, Machines, Machines, Machines" which was really good! Wrapped up with a post show drink at the Dive since it was on the way home.
Wednesday I went and picked up the dogs at mom's since I'd left them there again with all my traveling going on. We sat and watched Xanadu :) Friday I did a media tour and then went out for drinks with the guys from VL. Good to see them since we hadn't hung out in a while. And the food at Ludwigs was definitely worth the wait. Wrapped up the day by doing a fast edit for Chris on the documentation for his Remote piece so he could apply to an art festival in Europe. Crossing fingers. Saturday we went to Uke bar to celebrate Mark's birthday. Sunday we went out to Mom V's for dinner. We took the dogs who had a GREAT time in her backyard.

Coming up is more work work work, which is great. I've also been playing with the new camera and editing software. That is working quite nicely, thank goodness. I'm also learning a new accounting program and I think I finally have all of my info for this year entered correctly--but we'll see what the accountant says. This week is crazy- Thursday - Philly Soul outing with the VL folks, Dinner in the NE on Friday, a performance and Kimmi's bday party on Saturday, Dinner with Mom V out in West Chester on Sunday, and hopefully a birthday surprise for Chris on Monday. Geez, when am I going to have TIME to work. Thank goodness for the crackberry.

Till the next time I manage to keep a connection going and remember to write everything down....

12:07PM - May

The kinda weird part about being busy is that you finally have good stuff to write about...but then you don't have time to write about it and forget what the heck you were so busy with in the first place. Hardly helpful in documenting what you were up to at the time for "posterity."

Time to dig deep into the mid-term memory and see if I can figure out what I've been up to the last few weeks...

My house: On the market. Still finishing up some last items on the list, including new vinyl floor, molding, and sink in the 3rd floor bath and painting the ceiling of the office. Hopefully soon, it will be time to give away the remaining furniture and stop going there all the time.

Work: I've been to Ellis Island, worked for Fox News, coordinated and oversaw a 20 location international corporate meeting. Work's been good! I also managed to get new business cards (THANK YOU M3Printing!!) as well as get all the financial stuff like biz acct, biz checks, credit cards in order. That's right I now accept American Express.

Puppies: Puppies are officially back from their long hiatus at Camp Grandma. They haven't killed the cat yet, I've even caught Maggie laying quietly on the bed next to her. We've been walking every day over to Seger Park Dog Run. This is definitely helping to socialize Maggie, but she still feels compelled to bark at small children. Oh, and the other night we took her out for her first beer. Now that she's 2, we decided she was old enough to bar hop. She took a stool at the Dive and thoroughly enjoyed all of the attention and beer foam her dad provided.

Social: Chris's opening at the Schuylkill Center went very well and the piece is getting some good attention. Rightfully so I think. I'm still hyper aware of birds, etc as I walk around. We've also hit a few BBQs and Mr. Alfe's birthday function. Toured the girls around the Italian Festival. Last Saturday, I took Mom V to see "Doubt". The play is amazing and the performance was wonderful. Mom V had done scenes from the show in her theater class last spring so it was especially great for her to get to see the show performed. Then we went to a very nice italian dinner. And I drove her home, while chatting and catching up.

Misc: From working out on the roofdeck each morning, this may be the first summer in YEARS where I'm actually tan. The weather was so nice yesterday, that we took a bike ride to the falls bridge and back. And I wasn't in total pain afterwards. Of course the subsequent drinks at Uke Bar and th ePen and Pencil probably didn't hurt.

This coming weekend is full of BBQing. The Mildred St. block party is tomorrow and more grilling on Sun and Mon. Guess I better get back to getting ready for it all.

2:38PM - Finally!

You've all been wondering where I've been, and listened to be babble on and on about getting the house ready to sell. Well, it's finally on the market!
Cross your fingers for me!

In case you might happen to be interested in living in it...
My MLS Listing

Or scroll down to it on here

2:21PM - Get back to Nature y'all!!

Enjoy the beautiful day on Sunday, and get to see some site-specific art out in an amazing nature perserve, tucked away in the city!


Supplemental Shrubbery Sound Source
an installation at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education

SCEE, 8480 Hagy's Mill Road, Philadelphia

Opening reception: Sunday May 6th 5:30-8:30pm

An array of motion sensitive modules are installed along a section of the trail. When someone walks past, the modules emit sounds which supplement the sounds occurring naturally in the environment. The sound samples are arranged along the path in a sequence which proceeds from the most "natural" to the most "man-made". The effect varies depending upon which way one happens to be moving along the path. At the "natural" end, it is not clear whether what one is hearing is part of the installation or part of the (natural) landscape. Central to this installation are questions about what constitutes "natural" versus "man-made". Just as man has dramatically modified the environment through the introduction of invasive species and transformed the landscape with technological intervention, this installation will supplement and modify the forest's sound environment, both subtly and dramatically, with invasive and technological additions.


For more information: http://www.noisemantra.com/Shrubbery/S4.htm


Supplemental Shrubbery Sound Source is part of Green Machine, a multi-media exhibition featuring work by Chris Vecchio, Keiko Miyamori, and Katie Murken in partnership with P'unk Avenue.

On Sunday May 6th at 5:30 PM there will be a reception and gallery talk with the artists followed by simultaneous performances by Toshi Makihara (at the Schuylkill Center) and Chikara Miura (in Japan) linked by via the web. The performance begins at 7:30PM. Web-broadcasts and video documentation have been provided by Vincent Romaniello.

More online info available at:
http://www.inliquid.com/features/greenmachine/index.html
http://www.inliquid.com/art/installation/miyamori/miyamori.php
http://www.inliquid.com/art/installation/murken/murken.php
http://www.toshimakihara.com/
http://window.punkave.com/
http://www.vincentromaniello.com/green_trailer.html
http://www.noisemantra.com/Shrubbery/S4.htm

9:29PM - Odd

Today, I saw what I believe to have been someone playing the euphonium while roller blading across the Walnut St. Bridge.
Clearly, my own multi-tasking skills need some honing.

2:06AM - 180 degrees

When we last left off.. It had been snowing. Pleh!

Yesterday, the breeze happened. I remember writing about it last year when it happened.
It's that first day in spring where it's amply warm enough on a base level to have the window open well into the evening. Not like the days where it hits 70 but then by nightfall chills to a bitter temp. No, this is when it's truly warm and the breeze comes through the window, warm and enveloping. I was nearly as giddy as a schoolgirl. Except I wasn't very giddy as a schoolgirl.

Despite having a multitude of reasons to be stressed out..and mind you, I am quite stressed out..I have an overall sense of happiness as of late. I know the aforementioned weather is helping. But possibly also because I see progress and I see hope.

In the last month, though I have not been working much, I have managed to:
pack up everything I own, or just about
move everything I own, or just about (with help of course)
refinish the floors of the hallway and the living room
get the back patio fixed

Admittedly, sometimes I'm feeling a little like a nomad these days without a permanent place to hang my hat. But it's actually not too bad. And the idea that I might soon be rid of the house is VERY freeing. Looks like I might make my deadline of having it close to ready by the end of this week. And boy it's been a lot of work, but I think overall it is worth it. Or I hope it will be. A little sad that I won't be around to enjoy all the fruits of my labors. But I'll just be happy knowing someone gets to live there and appreciate the place. Then I won't have to. Instead we get to live in a much bigger place, with tailored ammenities to our life.

In the mean time, I get to be spoiled with dinners like I just had with homemade lamb and broccoli rabe sausage and homemade tomato sauce over pasta. Mmmm..italian.

I miss the girls since they are at camp grandma until I finish work on the house.
And I'm sad because Alice the cat and I have really been having a great time together lately and I know that will be over when the girls show up. Eventually, I really do think they will get along, just need to be together all the time.

I know I need to id some other notables from the past month, but i'm too tired tonight to think back that far. I can only go back to yesterday-one of my favorite days in recent memory. Beautiful out, windows open, enjoyed coffee time mixed with a bit of work. Then out to the Schuylkill Center to install Chris's new piece. 80 degrees and the whole day outside amongst the trees. Yes, it was work. Yes it was climbing ladders, and making tree decisions. But it was SO nice to spend a random Monday doing something truly enjoyable. And then for my efforts, I was taken out to a lovely Mexican meal where we gorged on cactus and goat and enchilladas. And finally, a movie at home, since neither of us had much energy left after all that.

Maybe it's the sun or the spring talkin', but golly I'm goofy in love. And I'm genuinely happier that I possibly ever remember being. At least since I was 3.

6:01AM - Le sacre du printemps!

Despite the evil weather from last friday..
My fair, front yard croci were DETERMINED to make an appearance on the first day of spring. Even if it meant pushing up through the snow to do it. Now that's my kinda flower!!!

6:00PM - Soldiers and Stewie

Spontaneous applause in the middle of LAX. Perplexing without much sleep. Revealed to be a show of support for US military disembarking from a flight. Cheers for what they were doing? Cheers for their safe return? Who can say, but it definitely put a smile on their weary faces.

Event went well sunday night. Seth really is just that non-sequitor.
Link to the best one of the many we did. Check it out if you are one of those Family Guy lovin' individuals. Or if you want to see what happened to Rob Corddry from Daily Show. Or if you just enjoy watching goofy celebs.

Tony took me after way up near the hollywood sign. cool stuff.

Enjoyed out at first friday incl. sugar mom's and the tap for dinner.
Saturday was get ready for work, gallery opening and dinner at Beau Monde-yum.

That's about it. Hiding in the house until the snow passes again.
Unless some more work comes my way...
Working on the final list for the house until then.

1:03PM - slackass review

In the last month and a half or so...

-Baltimore for work
-New York for friends visit and dinner at Les Halles (not bad, not great). Also got in some gallery time and an afternoon at MOMA
-Had a near meltdown because nearly everyone I know and/or dated has been getting married or procreated lately. Maybe it just seems that way
-Spent an entire week refinishing the dining room floor which made the house a complete mess but now looks absolutely incredible. Can't wait for the living room.
-Bid adieu to Raj and Ramona as they head to SF. A wonderful morroccan dinner club was a really nice way to send them off
-Attended the non-official and the offical opening of the new Nexus space. Very sweet.
-Worked on editing a video here in Philly
-Got snowiced in in South Philly. But I was basically living there while working on the floors anyway.
-Was surprised with a Valentine's outing consisting of tix to the Opera, dinner at Monk's after, and a nightcap at Franks after that. Though we had to stick to what was within walking distance because of the weather, I think it was about as good as it gets.
-DC for the Satellite conference and got to have dinner with Michelle. Show was great. Actually had meetings for a change while there and looks like I might actually get some biz out of it. Was also good just to see everyone and dispell the industry rumors that I'd fallen off the face of the earth. Guess it is time to start working again.
-NY again for Jen's birthday function. Just a quick up and back trip but great to see her after so long and also Brooke and Mary from CNN. I guess the cat's out of the bag now with the NY Bureau that I'm back in freelance land. About six months I was able to hide---not bad. And there may be some work out of that too. Ok. I admit it. Sometimes I miss the chicken noodle and mr. chicken legs. We also were able to go after the party to McSorley's for some darks and a cheese plate. So happy mr. man enjoyed it too.
-Denver for work. Got out on Sunday just in time before they closed the airport. Whew.

That's about it. Now I'm back to working on the house for a couple of days before it's time to head out to LA. Just wish my trips weren't always overnighters so I could actually see people sometimes. At least this job should be fun (read not starting at 3am) Sad that I've barely been out in Philly as of late. I'm either sleeping or not here. Hopefully as the weather gets better even when I am sleepy, I'll be enfused with energy forcing me out.

2:46PM - Yum

4 words. Tasting menu at Pumpkin.

That was SUCH a cool date I went on last night.
No, I'm not implying that I'm back out on the prowl and
Yes, we still go out on dates because it's fun and sweet and kinda romantic. :)

I got to put on a skirt and make myself spiffy.
I got picked up and whisked off to the restaurant.
We had a yummy bottle of wine provided by nick, (which makes up for the fact that sometimes chris confuses us, thinking he shared something with me, when in fact it was actually nick. Sigh.)
And then were slowly assaulted by 7 courses of culinary amazement.
I love when dinner takes 3 hours. I can enjoy my food instead of throwing it down my throat.
I don't know that I can accurately reproduce all of the information about what we ate, so forgive
me for not being precise. But includes were things like: Quail Breast, Fois Gras, Endive w/ Walnut Apple salad, Stuffed Squid in ink sauce, Lobster Tail in the most amazing butter sauce, Lamb Offal including liver, kidney and seared heart, and warm apple crunchy ice cream yummy goodness for dessert.
And finally a little brandy nightcap back at home.

Wow. I'm spoiled rotten. But I know it and golly, do I appreciate it.
Life is definitely good.

1:44AM - the UPdate

The past week has been full of busy stuff. Lots of painting and plastering in the house, which is really starting to make the 3rd floor look pretty darn good. Also headed to NYC for work on Thursday and squeezed in getting to see Crissy for the first time in months, just before she jetted off to Belize. Rough.
Worked in Philly on Friday. Then we headed to the Pig Iron benefit at the Troc. Great performances there and weird recollections of hanging at the Troc oh so many years before.
Saturday involved a lazy morning of coffee and puppy cuddles, followed by yet more work on the house while chris did a mom visit. Later on we hit Uke Bar for a beer and then watched most of Everything is Illuminated. But of course I fell asleep on the couch as I so often do while watching a movie.
Pretty slack weekend all in all. At least in contrast to recent weeks.

One additional thing from last week that I have to say.

Ok. We often gripe in our household about retail establishment music selections. You know, that amazingly numbing blast of Barbra Elton Joel as you try to quickly purchase some much needed items. You don't really need a soundtrack or a themesong to buy sandpaper at Lowes or a 12-pack of toilet paper and a cute $9.99 blouse at Target. But some market group somewhere held a focus group that somehow determined that you would spend more money with these retailers if you are being inundated by Celine Dion as you make your purchases. Chris has actually come to believe that he was implanted with a sensor that triggers "Piano Man" as soon as he walks into ANY Home Depot.

You would think then that I would be elated, joyous, giddy to have a sans-muzak shopping experience.
But instead of leaving the store irritated, this time I left slightly....violated.
Let me paint the picture for you. About 10pm on a Tuesday night, I need a few basic food items and perhaps something sweet to satiate a hankering. I head to my closest large scale purveyor of groceries, the Fresh Grocer at 56th & Chestnut. I pick up the milk, eggs, etc. and head to the baking section to pick something sweet to make. I browse the shelves with so many options of cakes and cookies and brownies and chocolate silk pie kits. Mind you decision making on this level is hard enough for me. But I find myself unable to focus.
I can't focus because I realize I'm quietly singing along and, dare I say, starting to shake my booty to the music coming over the loudspeaker. The music- Fergalicious. You know, by Fergie. The tight-assed prissy girl from Kids Inc. who somehow in the intervening oh 15 YEARS found rhythm, a good record producer, and a shimmy to shake. Yeah, her. I can't decide what cake mix to get and what frosting goes with it when I'm too focused on making sure I'm not looking like the pastey dork "gettin' down" in aisle 5. I can't even help myself from still singing along. Who can focus on sweets when your jammin to a hip beat? I grabbed the first thing that caught my eye and ran for the checkout in the hopes of avoiding being seen in this state by my fellow shoppers. Worse, the whole ride home...I WAS STILL SINGING IT!!

I am officially through with complaining about the usual Billy Elton Diamond mix heard in most stores. Sure it's annoying. Really annoying. But at least I've never found myself singing along and dancing through the aisles when that stuff is playing. And I can make my purchase choices efficiently with that bland excuse for entertainment playing in the background, while still expediting the amount of time spent in a retail outlet.
And before you ask, I don't know how the hell I managed to learn the lyrics well enough to sing along. But I'll bet you know all the words to Piano Man without meaning to, too.

2:23AM - Post Holiday Recap

Now that all the gifting and celebrating and strutting is done, I think I'll recap the rest of the holidays.
Since last posting time...
26th - Nice gift exchange with the family and actually got to see my brother
27-29th - Working on the house. Floors are done and painting has commenced. Also patching plaster and sanding the banister. Had a nice time out with Jen and Chip and Erik and Nikki.
30th - We didn't do much all weekend which was nice. If we went out that night, I'm not remembering...
31st - Stayed in and did champagne at home. So nice! I think this is officially a tradition now and I really enjoy it.
1st - Slept in. Made dinner at home and then went to Franks for a bit
2nd-3rd - More work at home and a bit of rest after all the holiday experiences.
4th - Worked. Had a fun time and then sat out in the beautiful weather for a post-work coffee. In the evening, I was picked up and taken out on a date. Went to see This is the week that is which was very very good. We both really enjoyed it. Then we went to Khyber to see Seth's band, Diamond Nights. What a fun and whacky bunch. And he knew who i was though I'd never met him. That made me feel warm and fuzzy. Lots of the ukes came out to see them while they were in town. Finished up the night with some cognac and fish and cheese with Mark and Yarka. We gave them that house and retired to the country home for the evening.
5th - Hit M Room to see Jason. A bit packed but fun none the less. And good to see him while he was here. I was afraid I'd miss him since I hadn't had a chance to catch up since he'd arrived.
6th - A BEAUTIFUL day. Had all the windows open and the Mummer's on TV while working on the house. Then went over to Paul's on 2St to enjoy all the festivities. I'd never been down there before and really enjoyed it. Then we went to Josh's re-new year's party. That was a lot of fun too.
7th - Ukranian Christmas dinner at Gregor and Mira's. SO yummy oh my goodness. And got to see pictures from the India trip.
Ok that's enough.
I'm sad because I saw on the long-range forcast that it will probably snow in 2 weeks. And I was SO happy on Saturday when it was nice and warm out. At least March and April aren't far away now. And by then there'll be so much going on in terms of juggling living arrangements that I'll really be appreciating it.